Monthly archives for January, 2016

Phil, G3MGQ has sent through his ‘Month on the Air’ for February 2016 which contains lots of DX information including the big contests to look out for and those to possibly avoid! Enjoy February’s edition of Month on the Air.

Talk on Spectrum utilisation efficiency – 4G and beyond by Ian Clark

HERC is delighted to announce that Ian Clark will be attending the HERC club room on the 23rd March for a presentation on spectrum utilisation. Phil G3MGQ who kindly arranged the talk with Ian, sent through a brief piece on his personal background for those who will undoubtedly be interested in the talk.

Ian Clark spent 26 years working for BT International and for most of that time he was responsible for the maintenance, installation and design of international transmission networks and systems operating over satellite and submarine optical fibre cables. Ian left BT in 1994 but during his final years at BT he was employed as a technical training designer and lecturer at the BT International training college. He now works as a freelance telecommunication technical trainer and is a specialist in radio, fibre optic transmission systems, data communications, and mobile technologies including GSM, GPRS, UMTS and LTE technologies.

The talk will take place as usual at HERC’s Taplin Centre meeting room on the 23rd March 2016, with the doors opening at 7.30pm. Everyone is invited to attend. You may wish to view HERC’s contact and direction information.

Live amateur radio evening and chat at the Taplin Centre

On 27th January at 7.30pm, the club will hold the first of two annual Live Amateur Radio evenings at the Taplin Centre club room in St. Leonards. The general public is welcome to visit and explore the world of amateur radio, with members offering a wealth of radio and electronics experience on the night. Live operating will be conducted on HF transceivers as well as UHF handheld radios connecting through nearby repeaters which enable contact with other amateur radio operators further afield.

Leon G1HSM setting up his Yaesu FT-817 and handhelf dual bander for operation from the Taplin Centre in 2015. Leon had a good evening and made several contacts using an end-fed wire run into the garden area.

The public is welcome to ask any questions they may have to the club members on the night, and make enquiries about taking their amateur radio licence through the clubs RSGB approved trainer, Phil G3MGQ. If you haven’t visited the Taplin Centre before, directions can be found here. All will be made most welcome.

ARISS contact planned for school in St. Albans United Kingdom

Friday, January 8, 2016 at approximately 08:47 UTC, an ARISS contact is
planned for Sandringham School, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom.
Amateur radio station GB1SAN, will operate the contact. The ARISS HAM radio
station GB1SS on the board of the International Space Station will be
operated by Timothy Peake KG5BVI.

School information:

Sandringham School is a high performing coeducational non-selective and
non-denominational secondary school, consistently graded Outstanding by
Ofsted and being in the top 100 highest performing non-selective schools in
England for the past 3 years.

The school is a specialist science college, arts college and leading edge
provider. It is also designated as one of the first ‘World Class Schools’ in
the country. The school operates a significant amount of community and
outreach activities, is an Initial Teacher Training provider and runs a
Teaching School Alliance for Hertfordshire. Sandringham is also a “Gifted
and Talented” lead school and International School, with significant
international activities taking place throughout the year. The school also
coordinates National Initiatives with the Education Endowment Foundation and
has a significant reputation in the country for delivering outstanding
comprehensive education.

The total number of students on roll is 1300 and expanding, with children
from age 11 – 19, including a very large and academic sixth form. The
catchment area is local, serving the needs of St. Albans and Wheathampstead
although sixth form students join the school from further away if they meet
the entrance criteria.

We have over 100 teachers in the school including specialist teachers of
computing science and three female physics teachers all of whom have a
specialist interest in space and astronomy. In addition, the headeacher is a
very active radio amateur who is extremely supportive of this contact.

The ARISS contact will be conducted in English.

It will be broadcast on EchoLink AMSAT (node 101 377), as well as on IRLP
Node 9010 Discovery Reflector.

It will also be webcast on
https://principia.ariss.org/

Click on Live Webcast.

Students will ask as many of the following questions as time allows.

1. Hugo (12): What do you think Isaac Newton would say if he knew that the
name of your mission was based on his book?

2. Imogen (17): If you had a liquid hydrocarbon in space would the
intermolecular forces be strong enough to hold it in a ball of liquid?

3. Philip (15): How is rapid cooling of liquid metals performed in the EML
experiment?

4. Jess (12): The EML is being used to study alloy structure and formation.
What are the benefits of using space as a scientific platform?

5. Jamie (18): What would happen to a helium balloon aboard the ISS?

6. Aiswarya (15): With the EXPOSE-R2 experiment are, you able to predict if
any samples will be able to survive outside in space?

7. Samuel (10): What’s the most exciting thing that’s happened to you so far
on the ISS?

8. Josh (12): With your view of earth, is there one thing which stands out
visually?

9. Liberty (15): We hear that you are planning on driving the Mars Rover
from space, how does that work?

10. Jessica (9): Does gravity affect time and ageing?

11. (Hugo (12): If you could visit any planet in the solar system (which
isn’t gas), which planet would you visit and why?

12. Imogen (17): How does your body feel when you are weightless?

13. Philip (15): What did you bring with you to the ISS?

14. Jess (12): Is the sun more powerful in space?

15. Jamie (18): Did you want to be an astronaut when you were a boy and is
it like you thought it would be?

16. Aiswarya (15): As you are communicating with us, do you get the chance
to communicate with your family?

17. Samuel (10): If you could send any message out into space what would it
be?

18. Josh (12): What do you think the hardest adjustment in coming back down
to Earth will be?

19. Liberty (15): What is the most amazing thing you have seen in space?

20. Jessica (9): Where do you stand on the theory of a multiverse existence
and do you think it is possible to find any evidence for or against this in
space?

ARISS offers an opportunity for students to experience the excitement of
Amateur Radio by talking directly with crewmembers onboard the International
Space Station. Teachers, parents and communities see, first hand, how
Amateur Radio and crewmembers on ISS can energize youngsters’ interest in
science, technology and learning.

G3MGQ’s Month on the Air

Prepared by the clubs RSGB trainer, G3MGQ, you will find the latest DX contests including the ones to shoot for as well as ones to give a wide berth. Why not download the latest edition of Month on the Air and enjoy your DX just that little bit more.

Become a member of HERC

Why not join one of the largest and most established Radio clubs in the South East of England? Very low joining cost, and free for a year to new licencees.

Vital Spark Archive

Take a look through a large selection of articles written by club members over the years which have been published in the monthly Vital Spark newsletter .

Used Ham Radio Equipment

Every four weeks, HERC's Used Ham Radio Equipment for sale list is updated on the site. Bookmark the gear for sale page to re-visit easily and take advantage of the used equipment on sale through the club.

Club Photographs

Here is the official HERC photograph archive which contains multiple image galleries spanning several decades since the club was formed many years ago. Enjoy the images!

UK Amateur Radio Repeaters

Click button above for full list, or a local repeater callsign below for info.